Wayne Rooney was pictured with wedding guests looking worse for wear during international duty

One that still persists within the game that is just another obstacle in the way of the country being able to compete at the top table.

Rooney was shamed into saying sorry for shifting so much alcohol he was a drunken mess – ‘paralytic’ according to witnesses – whilst apparently still on international duty with the England side.

Cue the predictable faux outrage among those in the game, and a wide section of supporters. “What’s wrong with having a few drinks?”, they ask. “He was on a day off,” is another excuse.

I’ll tell you what is wrong. Elite sportsmen, those truly world class talents we want our players to be, they just don’t do this.

The same people queuing up to defend Rooney are very often the ones who lambaste England’s footballers for not being able to compete at the elite level.

They criticise the national team for falling short, attack the players for not producing at the major tournaments, and fall over themselves to eulogise over how great foreign players are in comparison.

Cristiano Ronaldo lives a healthy lifestyle and is one of the world stars those defending Wayne Rooney would love English players to emulate

And if he already knew in his own mind he would miss the Spain game, is an all-night bender really giving yourself the best chance possible of recovering in time for a game the following weekend? Sports scientists everywhere will tell you it isn’t.

But this is not really about Rooney, it is about the general belief among those in the game that abusing your body to such an extent is still acceptable.

No-one is saying grown adults are not free to have a drink, but do it responsibly and not to excess. In exchange for the unbelievable wealth, just make the sacrifices needed to be the very best you can be.

You cannot have it both ways. If you want to be elite, then live the life of an elite.

Tales of Paul Gascoigne's drunken exploits as a player are fondly remembered - but he ruined his career as a result

Except, in England it seems we are still back in the past. We love the tales of Tony Adams, Paul Gascoigne, Ray Parlour - the comedy moments of dressing room banter, often involving outrageous acts of drunken tomfoolery.

We talk of characters, smile at anecdotes of some of the ludicrous situations players got themselves involved in.

We argue that footballers should be allowed to cut loose, to let off steam as the adults they are.